Reference is made to my own prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,287,866 upon an improved foundation and wall drainage system including a drainage tile positioned adjacent the inner wall of the footer of the outer block wall-footer construction in a conventional basement wall. The basement wall has drain openings provided in the inner wall of the block wall whereby water seeping into the block wall center openings can flow out to a gravel bed and down to a drain tile embedded in the gravel bed and positioned adjacent the footer. However, these drain tile and gravel bed in the prior units can get blocked with silt, or dirt. Normally gravel is placed around the drain tile to allow entry of the water into the drain tile. However, the chemicals in the water will stick to the gravel and, in time, not let the water pass through the pipe. These chemicals can be iron or lime in the water or chemicals on the surface of the rock. That is, the system has worked well but the material used for filling around the footer and foundation wall may become tightly packed and sand and gravel may pack into any original open areas adjacent the footer-drain tile area and tend to slow down or prevent good drainage through the system.
I also refer to my copending patent application, Ser. No. 535,157 relating to an improved wall and foundation drainage construction and utilizing a drainage member secured to or positioned on an upper inner surface of the footer and connecting to drainage openings provided in a bottom block of the wall and extending out to gravel means associated with the drain tile and an improved action can be obtained from a construction of that type which aids in the flow of water to the drain tile means provided.
Yet another type of a construction is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,283,460 wherein a protector strip of generally L-shape in vertical section is positioned on the inner corner of a wall and foundation unit to aid in sealing the connection therebetween, but to permit drainage from the wall thereunder down to an associated drain tile unit. A drain tile, is positioned on a basement floor and is operatively connected to the wall-foundation unit at the lower inner surface thereof, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,304,672 but this type of a drainage tile means is unsightly and is exposed to damage by not being covered in the wall-foundation unit. Further, relative to the piping system of this patent which is placed upon the floor, this system will not work for various reasons. The cement used will come loose in time, as there is no cement which will permanently adhere where water is constantly present. In addition, since the unit is placed upon the floor, there is always that half of the block under the floor which will never drain, resulting in the constant presence of corrosive water and musty odors.
In poured concrete basements, water will penetrate between the footer and the wall due to the pressure existing on the outside of the wall and footer. This new inside drainage system allows water to move freely into the pipe.
The general object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved block wall and foundation drainage construction apparatus wherein an open drainage area is provided immediately adjacent an inner wall of the footer of the wall-foundation unit.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved drainage tile in a foundation drainage assembly wherein the drainage tile can be molded from plastic or other extrudable material and wherein drain apertures can be provided in a lower portion thereof and a reinforcing or support flange can be provided thereon on an upper portion of the drainage tile.
Another object of the invention is to provide a drainage tile which can be molded in a plurality of pieces and be readily assembled into an open centered drainage unit, and to have an upper shelf provided on the drainage tile and position it at and above an open area provided adjacent the footer and which support shelf connects to the block wall above drainage openings provided therein.
Other objects of the invention are to provide a novel and improved hollow centered drainage means, to support a cover plate or support shelf of a drain tile assembly in a unique manner in a basement drainage system; to utilize conventional members in making up a block wall-footer unit and to form an efficient, long lived drainage means for a basement which is competitive in price and which will provided long service life.
In general the present invention relates
a foundation wall and drainage tile system which comprises PA1 a footer, an inner wall of the footer having an open area extending therealong, PA1 a wall formed of hollow building blocks with openings in their upper and lower surfaces and arranged vertically on the footer, the lower most row of the building blocks having space and portions in the inner wall surfaces thereof communicating with the interior of the hollow building blocks to form drainage openings adjacent to the open area provided, and PA1 a basement floor is present and is above the drainage openings, and a drain means including a hollow center portion having a plurality of drain slots formed in a lower area thereof is positioned in the open area provided adjacent the footer, and PA1 a plate means bridging over said open area and supported on the drain means and a part of the blocks above the drainage openings whereby the plate means can support a marginal portion of the basement floor thereon.